Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Restaurants Arepa Mia opens in Sweet Auburn Curb Market
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Wed, Jun 6, 2012 at 3:00 PM
- Cliff Bostock's iPhone
- Lis Hernandez
Now, the native of Venzuela has opened Arepa Mia in the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. I suggest you get there as soon as you can. You won't find arepas like this anywhere else in the city.
An arepa is a cornmeal patty split in half and stuffed with a variety of ingredients. Lis is using locally sourced meats and vegetables.
There are seven varieties on the menu. I chose the pabellon, which Lis said is the favorite in Venezuela, adding that "this is what I want to eat before I die." Its contents include shredded beef, black beans, plantains, and feta cheese. It was deliciously messy and not easy to pick up. Once I managed to do that, biting into the slightly crunchy corn patty caused contents to ooze out the sides. But that's what forks are for.
- Cliff Bostock's iPhone
- Pabellon at Arepa Mia
I was completely stuffed after eating the pabellon, but also tried an empanada. These too are a departure from the usual around town. Instead of a virtual flour dumpling that's been fried with a small amount of filling, these are also made of cornmeal flour and firmly stuffed with various ingredients. They are served with two different sauces - nata, which is similar to creme fraiche, and guasacaca, which vaguely resembles chimichurri.
There was no way I could eat the whole empanada, which was served cut into four pieces. I forced half of it on a doctor sitting next to me who had already wolfed down an arepa, too.
There are a few sides on the menu - fried sweet plantains, black beans, and house-made yucca and plantain chips served with nata and guasacaca.
It's good to have Lis back in town although I'm afraid I'll become as addicted to her arepas as I was to her fig pizzas.
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